Major drivers are the Group’s leading cancer medicines,
as well as Lucentis, Actemra/RoActemra and Mircera; sales of
oncology portfolio rise by 9% to 11.1 billion Swiss francs.

Operating profit before exceptional items up 9% in local
currencies (7% in Swiss francs).

The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) votes
that use of Avastin for previously untreated advanced HER2-negative
breast cancer be removed from the US label. FDA's final decision
expected by September 2010.

Operating profit rises substantially, up 45% in local
currencies (47% in Swiss francs).

Strong benefit of cobas 4800 HPV test in screening for cervical
cancer demonstrated by ATHENA, the largest clinical trial ever
performed in this indication.

Barring unforeseen events.

Basel, 22 July 2010 -Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche, on the
Group’s Half Year results: “Roche achieved a strong
operating performance in the first half of 2010 despite an
increasingly challenging market environment; net income for the
period was up significantly. Excluding Tamiflu, Pharma sales
increased faster than the market, and Diagnostics continued to grow
significantly above the market rate. The US filing of T-DM1, an
“armed antibody” for the treatment of HER-2 positive
breast cancer, represents a major step towards offering this
innovative medicine to patients who have very limited treatment
options.“

Roche Group

Good half-year results
The Roche Group posted strong operating results in the first half
of 2010. Group sales grew by 5% in local currencies (3% in Swiss
francs; 7% in US dollars) to 24.6 billion Swiss francs. The
Pharmaceuticals Division increased its sales by 4% in local
currencies (1% in Swiss francs; 6% in US dollars) to 19.4 billion
Swiss francs. Demand for the cancer drugs Avastin,
MabThera/Rituxan, Herceptin, Xeloda and Tarceva continued to show
strong growth. Overall sales of oncology products rose 9% in local
currencies in the first half year, enabling Roche to solidify its
leading market position in this segment. Other major growth drivers
in the Pharmaceuticals Division included Lucentis in ophthalmology,
Actemra/RoActemra for rheumatoid arthritis and Mircera for anemia.
These positive factors more than offset the expected significant
decline in Tamiflu sales. Excluding Tamiflu, sales growth was 6% in
local currencies, again ahead of market growth. The Diagnostics
Division expanded its market leadership as sales reached 5.3
billion Swiss francs in the first six months of 2010, a 9% growth
rate in local currencies (7% in Swiss francs; 12% in US
dollars).

This strong growth was led by the Professional Diagnostics
unit’s immunoassay business and Diabetes Care’s
Accu-Chek Aviva, Accu-Chek Performa and newly launched Accu-Chek
Mobile blood glucose monitoring systems, followed by Applied
Science with strong growth in the cell analysis segment.

The Group’s operating profit before exceptional items
increased significantly by 11% in local currencies (10% in Swiss
francs), again substantially above sales growth. This rise was
driven by the growth in sales and by further productivity
improvements. The Pharmaceuticals Division improved its operating
profit (before exceptional items) by 9% in local currencies and 7%
in Swiss francs to 8.0 billion Swiss francs, due primarily to
higher sales and cost synergies from the Genentech integration. The
Diagnostics Division’s operating profit grew substantially,
advancing 45% in local currencies and 47% in Swiss francs to 947
million Swiss francs, due mainly to strong sales growth and ongoing
programmes to increase operational efficiency.

Group net income increased 37% to 5.6 billion Swiss francs,
primarily as a result of the much lower exceptional charges
incurred in respect of the Genentech transaction in the first half
of 2010 compared with 2009. Excluding exceptional items, Group net
income attributable to Roche shareholders rose 8% in Swiss francs.
Core earnings per share, which does not include exceptional items
or amortisation and impairment of intangible assets, increased 11%
in local currencies (9% in Swiss francs).

The Group’s operating free cash flow remained very solid
at 6.4 billion Swiss francs. Roche is accelerating repayment of the
48.2 billion Swiss francs borrowed on the capital market to finance
the acquisition of all outstanding shares of Genentech in the first
half of 2009. On 30 June 2010, 27% of the notes and bonds had
already been repaid. Furthermore, in the second half of 2010 Roche
will also repay, ahead of schedule, the 2.5 billion US dollar note
due 1 March 2012. By the end of 2010 Roche will thus have repaid
one third of the debt incurred to finance the Genentech
transaction.

Full-year outlook for 2010 confirmed
Despite lower Tamiflu sales (expected to total 1 billion Swiss
francs in the current year, down from 3.2 billion Swiss francs in
2009) and the more challenging market environment, Roche confirms
its full-year outlook for 2010 on the basis of the positive
half-year results.

Barring unforeseen events, Roche expects local currency sales
growth in the mid-single-digit range for the Group and the
Pharmaceuticals Division in 2010 (excluding Tamiflu sales). For the
Diagnostics Division, Roche expects to grow significantly above the
market.

Roche is also aiming for double-digit growth in core earnings
per share at constant exchange rates.

Read the entire media release

About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in
research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in
pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world’s largest
biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology,
virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world
leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and
a pioneer in diabetes management. Roche’s personalised
healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic
tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of
life and survival of patients. In 2009, Roche had over 80’000
employees worldwide and invested almost 10 billion Swiss francs in
R&D. The Group posted sales of 49.1 billion Swiss francs.
Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche
Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.
For more information: www.roche.com

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by law.

Disclaimer: Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking
statements
This document contains certain forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as
‘believes’, ‘expects’,
‘anticipates’, ‘projects’,
‘intends’, ‘should’, ‘seeks’,
‘estimates’, ‘future’ or similar
expressions or by discussion of, among other things, strategy,
goals, plans or intentions. Various factors may cause actual
results to differ materially in the future from those reflected in
forward-looking statements contained in this document, among
others: (1) pricing and product initiatives of competitors; (2)
legislative and regulatory developments and economic conditions;
(3) delay or inability in obtaining regulatory approvals or
bringing products to market; (4) fluctuations in currency exchange
rates and general financial market conditions; (5) uncertainties in
the discovery, development or marketing of new products or new uses
of existing products, including without limitation negative results
of clinical trials or research projects, unexpected side-effects of
pipeline or marketed products; (6) increased government pricing
pressures; (7) interruptions in production; (8) loss of or
inability to obtain adequate protection for intellectual property
rights; (9) litigation; (10) loss of key executives or other
employees; and (11) adverse publicity and news coverage. The
statement regarding earnings per share growth is not a profit
forecast and should not be interpreted to mean that Roche’s
earnings or earnings per share for any current or future period
will necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings
or earnings per share of Roche.